Fact and Opinion
Our goal is to analyze the distinction between factual statements and opinions from a philosophical—specifically an epistemological—perspective. Section 1 reviews the most common criteria for drawing the distinction, which while inadequate, as explained in Section 2, still plays an important cultur...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Windsor
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Informal Logic |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/7815 |
| _version_ | 1797685503382781952 |
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| author | Debby Hutchins David Kelley |
| author_facet | Debby Hutchins David Kelley |
| author_sort | Debby Hutchins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Our goal is to analyze the distinction between factual statements and opinions from a philosophical—specifically an epistemological—perspective. Section 1 reviews the most common criteria for drawing the distinction, which while inadequate, as explained in Section 2, still plays an important cultural and political role. In Section 3, we argue that the difference between factual statements and opinions does not involve a single criterion. Instead, the conceptual structure of the terms ‘fact’ and ‘opinion’ is analogous to that of natural kinds—terms with multiple dimensions. We expect that improved theory will lead to improvements in pedagogy, decision-making, and public discourse. But these consequences are not our chief focus.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:46:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-61d6dce207e14209925ef2c542d3869c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0824-2577 2293-734X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:46:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | University of Windsor |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Informal Logic |
| spelling | doaj.art-61d6dce207e14209925ef2c542d3869c2023-09-14T17:00:06ZengUniversity of WindsorInformal Logic0824-25772293-734X2023-09-0143310.22329/il.v43i3.7815Fact and OpinionDebby Hutchins0David Kelley1South Texas CollegeRetired Our goal is to analyze the distinction between factual statements and opinions from a philosophical—specifically an epistemological—perspective. Section 1 reviews the most common criteria for drawing the distinction, which while inadequate, as explained in Section 2, still plays an important cultural and political role. In Section 3, we argue that the difference between factual statements and opinions does not involve a single criterion. Instead, the conceptual structure of the terms ‘fact’ and ‘opinion’ is analogous to that of natural kinds—terms with multiple dimensions. We expect that improved theory will lead to improvements in pedagogy, decision-making, and public discourse. But these consequences are not our chief focus. https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/7815factopinionPew Research Organizationnatural kinds |
| spellingShingle | Debby Hutchins David Kelley Fact and Opinion Informal Logic fact opinion Pew Research Organization natural kinds |
| title | Fact and Opinion |
| title_full | Fact and Opinion |
| title_fullStr | Fact and Opinion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fact and Opinion |
| title_short | Fact and Opinion |
| title_sort | fact and opinion |
| topic | fact opinion Pew Research Organization natural kinds |
| url | https://informallogic.ca/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/7815 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT debbyhutchins factandopinion AT davidkelley factandopinion |